The U.S. military has announced the expansion of a program that expedites the citizenship process for certain non-citizens.

The program aims to help legal immigrants with essential language or medical skills, which the military needs.

The military announced the expansion of the Military Accessions Vital to the National Interest (Mavni) on Friday, according to the New York Times. The program, which before allowed for only 1,500 slots, will be expanded to 3,000 this fiscal year followed by another increase to 5,000 in 2016.

The Mavni program started in 2008 and was available to immigrants who entered the country legally and were in the process of applying for a citizenship. However, Army Times reported in September that the program was subsequently expanded to include immigrants under the Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

The inclusion of DACA caused the program to be halted in December, as the program required an overhaul to allow the new DACA applicants, reported Army Times. Retired Lt. Col. Margaret Stock, designer of Mavni, said at the time that the program needs new security screenings as well as to retrain recruiters.

She also argued the 1,500 limit at the time needed to be increased, especially to accommodate the new DACA applicants.

Speaking with the New York Times, Hank Minitrez, an U.S. Army spokesperson, said only a few DACA applicants had applied and none had been accepted as of yet. Nonetheless, he said Mavni was "extremely successful in filling our ranks with highly qualified soldiers who fill critical shortages."

According to the Army recruiting page, Mavni applicants must have either a set of specified medical experience or proficiency in required languages. Part of the benefits of the Mavni program is that it allows the applicant to by pass the Green Card process and also provides them all the benefits of any other enlisted soldier. The applicant would become a naturalized citizen after the graduate from basic training or are commissioned as an officer.

Here are lists of the medical fields and language skills required.